Embers (Scales 'N' Spells 4)

But he looked down at Nikki, who wasn’t a fully trained mage, who was so young. Who was disturbed being here and looked as if they wanted to be anywhere else. Gunter couldn’t find it in his heart to insist they keep going. Not when it put Nikki in a danger they had already escaped from once.

“Alright,” he finally said with a sigh. “Let’s retreat for today. Come back with more experts. I don’t want to risk us, either.”

Nikki gave him a stubborn look. “I’ll help you when you come again. You’re not coming here without me.”

Gunter’s returning smile was a mite soft. So brave, this one. “I’m counting on you.”

She was back.

Nikki tried not to glare at Lisette over the book they were loosely holding in their hands, but it wasn’t easy.

The mage wasn’t entirely horrible. She always spoke nicely to them, remained patient and kind. She looked like a gracefully-aged grandmother, with her silver hair in a sleek bob, the jewel-toned dress she wore both comfortable and flattering.

But she also kept coming into their domain, poking at both Nikki and Gunter. Nikki would really prefer it if she just went away. Lisette carried her power around her like a queen would a dramatic cape. She radiated it as well as experience.

She knew all the magical things, and powerful mages could not be trusted under any circumstances. Powerful mages had made their life a living hell.

The only reason why Nikki didn’t evade her completely was she had never done anything to them. And Gunter trusted her. Gunter had not led them astray yet, so Nikki was inclined to give her the benefit of the doubt. By maybe one percent.

Well, alright, it wasn’t only that. She also promised the knowledge Nikki craved. Nikki’s magical knowledge was a combination of what their parents had taught them and whatever tidbits they’d been able to figure out while with the Jaeggi. It wasn’t anything comparable to what this old mage knew. And as much as Nikki wanted to learn at their own pace, it wasn’t feasible. They were in a war, and no one was going to wait for Nikki to catch up.

The explosion at the old Jaeggi compound still rankled a day later. If they had been smarter, faster, knew more magic, they wouldn’t have been surprised. Gunter wouldn’t have been in danger.

Their heart had been in their throat when Gunter tackled them to the ground. Not out of any fear of danger, but from terror that something might happen to Gunter. He’d been in his human form, soft and fragile. As a dragon, the flames and explosion would have done nothing to Gunter’s lovely scales.

Of course, the unexpected explosion also meant being pinned under Gunter as he protected them with his own body. That had been pretty wonderful. Especially with the explosions and fire and danger. They just wanted to be held by Gunter always, but that wasn’t realistic.

Gunter needed a strong, smart, powerful mage at his side to take care of him and help him in his research.

And that just brought them right back to these magic lessons with Lisette.

Worst catch-22 ever.

A heavy sigh slipped from Nikki’s lips, and they transferred their glare to the book in their hands. It was a beginner’s book to magic. Something they should have mastered years ago. Which also smarted. This was the boring stuff, anyway. When did they get to the chapter about explosions?

“—you’ll need to be aware of power levels when you combine elements, as of course you can create anti-spells if you unbalance things too much—”

Apparently, it was rude to poke someone in the forehead and say “skip intro” when they were talking to you. Nikki eyed her and considered trying it anyway.

“Everything okay? Am I going too fast for you?” Lisette inquired, breaking into the swirling thoughts cluttering their brain.

“What? No. Math. Elements. I got it,” they muttered, trying not to sound annoyed, but judging by the skeptically raised white eyebrow, they had failed pretty miserably.

Right, maybe a magic question to throw her off guard. Nikki was good at diverting people. “You were talking about benign spells and malignant not being compatible, but if you combine the two, what happens?”

“Nothing good,” Lisette assured him.

“Like, narrow that down for me. Are there explosions? Do things melt? The world spins backwards for a while?”

“Usually, it creates a backlash of power that impacts everyone in the area and hurts them.” Lisette lifted a brow in challenge. That brow said your move.

“So, no explosions? Sounds not fun.” Nikki scratched that idea off the list. “Do we need to consider planetary alignments and what they’re doing when casting spells? I always wondered that.”

“Such as…?”

“Like, being aware when Mercury is in retrograde.”

“Oh. No, that has no effect.”

“Good. ’Cause I’m tired of Mercury’s shit. I’m in retrograde now. It’s my turn.”